Wildest Dreams
by Riddler-of-Words
Summary: He created rules, she broke them. He ran with CEOs, she ran with lions. He felt trapped, she embodied freedom. She welcomed him into her world, they knew he couldn't stay. Only...in their wildest dreams.
1. African Sunset

Warning: **language.** sex. violence. Bold means it's in the chapter. Rating is mature.

Disclaimer can be found on my page.

This is part of a three part story that I decided to post separately from **Unwilling Juliet, Unsuspecting Romeo** because I didn't want it to get swallowed up in those chapters. I want it to _shine_ on its own. Yes, it the title was influenced by Taylor Swift's song Wildest Dreams :D

* * *

... _Wildest Dreams_...

 _Part One: African sunset_

"So this must look a little funny," Sakura said and leaned back against the warm fur, running her fingers up Kora's neck and settling for a light scratch behind one ear. "It's always like this, you all trapped in the car and me out here."

The two reporters from National Geographic, Shikamaru and Choji, laughed, but the way they eyed the female lion told her they were more than happy to have metal and windows as a barrier.

Sakura smiled at the memory of the last group of journalists to come by. The smaller of the two male lions had become curious and the group had barely managed to close the window in time as Scruff sneaked up on them from the rear of the car. Before they drove off, he'd been able to easily take off their side mirror with his front paws.

Lifting the paw off her lap, Sakura stood and walked to the car. Kora watched her with half raised ears, but didn't bother to get up. She'd grown use to the cars, the people hiding behind cracked windows. Even with her comfort, that still didn't mean it was safe to get out of the cars. Oh no. While Sakura made it seem easy, she'd spent ten years of her life dedicated to researching these animals, this wildlife. Long hours had been spent, long years, so that she could be out here with nothing to hold her back, so she could be one-on-one with these majestic creatures.

Shikamaru, who was sitting in the front, climbed over the middle divider into driver seat. When she went to open the door, it was locked.

With a raised eyebrow, she stared at Shikamaru as he got situated and waited for him to realize she hadn't gotten in yet. Choji noticed first and tapped him on the shoulder.

"You know...lions can't open doors," she informed him as she heard the click, "so locking it doesn't do anything."

He rolled his eyes and, with a sigh, put the car into drive and took off fast enough for her back to press tightly against the worn leather of the rental car seat. It'd barely been a day since she'd met him, but she'd started to categorize him as a lazy man or bum she would say, but never aloud, so it had been amusing to find out he drove like his ass was on fire.

Choji seemed to be just as slow with motivation, but offer him food and he could probably move as fast as the lions or maybe the hyenas.

"It provides a feeling of security," Choji explained with a sheepish smile, "even if pointless."

Sakura turned in her seat and stared him in the eye. "You don't think I could protect you from them?"

Choji's mouth opened and closed, growing increasingly uncomfortable. He wasn't sure which answer would insult her more and so he settled for seeming to ponder his words until Shikamaru would answer, if he did. Hopefully.

And he did, with a snort and side glance at her body in a way that wasn't insulting, but more of a measuring look. "No offense, but you're a little skinny to be taking on lions."

Sakura settled back in her seat and shrugged. "I wouldn't need to take them on. They wouldn't attack me."

They came out onto a stretch that she called a road, but looked like it'd barely been driven over by more than a few cars ever which was the truth. Not a lot of people came out here, it was forbidden, so the tracks most likely came from her car. They'd decided to take one car to save gas as so hers was parked a good hour's walk away, at the first sight where the hyenas were. It only took the lions and hyenas half that time, if less, to go from one spot to the next, but she was stuck on two legs and a much slower speed.

Sometimes, when she needed to think or really wanted to enjoy the environment, she'd walk. Her buddies would catch with her sometimes, especially if she called their names, but even then there were times she just needed the stillness only nature could offer. Even though her home was empty, there was still a level of stress that came with walking through the door.

As they backtracked to the first location, Shikamaru and Choji fired off questions, Choji in the back with a camera.

She'd stopped worrying about her appearance after the first few interviews. When word first got out about her, the woman who laid with lions in the African sun, reporters and the likes had come flocking to Africa to get her story. And it worked for her, really, as she stared out at the landscape, the waist high grass only moved by the wind. But she wished it'd garnered more attention than it had because this stillness was unnatural.

"Look at all of this," she said as she pressed her hand against the window. The road curved and she used her other hand to shield her eyes from the late afternoon sun. It was a particularly hot day and the air condition was blasting. The air conditioning in her car didn't work, hadn't since the day she bought it, another reason for them taking the rental car.

"It's so calm," Choji acknowledged as he opened a bag of chips. Shikamaru shot him a glare over his shoulder and Choji shrugged.

"I'm hungry, dude," even as he said that he dropped so it rest against his hip and picked up the camera from its perch on his knee, "I can't help it."

"It shouldn't be," Sakura informed them after they'd finished bickering. "There should be wildlife, lots of it, but it's too quiet."

This was the point of the interviews. It wasn't the fame, the look-at-me-doing-something-cool, but the need for people to know this place was in danger. There was beauty here and it was dying. She couldn't save it by herself, she needed help.

"So what d'you do in your spare time?" Choji asked. She saw him shovel chips into his mouth in the rearview mirror, but he didn't make a sound.

Sakura shrugged. Truthfully, she didn't do much. Most things paled in comparison to being out in the wild, laying with Kora and Scruff and the others, watching the sun move across the sky.

"Read, I guess. Sometimes I go to the animal preserve and help out. I used to be into photography, but the only things I want to photograph are out there and the animals get curious so there's no point, it'll just get broken."

"You should try a GoPro cam," Shikamaru suggested.

Shaking her head, she said, "I used them for one interview and one of the hyena's got her teeth on one. The footage after was cool, but those things are expensive and I don't think there's insurance for lion and hyena destruction."

She turned to look at Shikamaru as she talked. The setting sun made his face a warm yellow and she secretly admitted he was one of the more attractive ones to come through. Sometimes she wished she cared more about her looks. Her fingers circled a small dirt stain on her cargo pants. Dressing up just wasn't her lifestyle and sometimes she liked to blame her loneliness on that, on the fact that she always had dirt under her nails, a braid that looked ready to fall out, and one pair of modest black heels for very, very special occasions, but it was more than that.

The wilderness demanded a lot of her time and she could never chose between that and a relationship. She'd spent too much time learning and raising these animals. But more than that, she was attached to them, was used to seeing them every day, the way Kai, the other, bigger, male lion would come running up to her after she'd called out his name, stand on his hind legs, and wrap his paws around her in a hug.

She drew her eyes away from his sharp jaw, focused on the blur of bright colors passing by, and pushed down the yearning growing like a weed in her chest.

Later, when the three of them, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Choji, are eating, Shikamaru will propose they stay in touch. It's the beer, she'll tell herself so it makes it just a little bit easier to turn him down.

* * *

Sasuke stared intently at the screen, waiting with his chin resting on his steepled hands. He was tempted to take a sip of coffee to help with the tired feeling behind his eyes, but he'd promised himself only three cups today so he had to go slow, sparingly.

One of his employees on the Research and Development Team, Hinata, was setting up the PowerPoint presentation, fumbling around with shaking hands, her blue hair shielding her red face from the long table of people waiting patiently, staring at her as she worked.

Naruto, another researcher and also his best friend, chattered in his ear saying things like "you're going to love this. I do, almost as much as ramen" and "this is a YouTube gem" in between other random, non-related things.

Sasuke swiveled in his chair so he was fully looking up at Naruto. His excitement, while a common thing, was unusually high for whatever he'd discovered. But what really caught Sasuke's attention was what he'd just said. He narrowed his eyes, confused, because Naruto knew much, much better than to gather ideas from YouTube for a company with such high standards.

"YouTube?" Sasuke asked and his eyebrow rose when Naruto gave him a sly grin. "It better not be some 'talented' person."

"Just wait and see," Naruto said, clapping his hands once when the presentation finally came to life. Hinata went off to the side to command the technological side of things while Naruto did all the talking.

Sasuke hoped he kept his rambling to a minimum today. They had monthly presentations from him about upcoming, potential for all branches of the company, and even though each time Sasuke prayed for them to be short, they always went on and on and on. Already he could feel a headache forming, right behind his left eye, and he wasn't sure if it was the caffeine withdrawal or the never-ending stress of being co-CEO of his late father's company with his brother Itachi, currently stationed at another headquarters halfway around the world. Probably a mixture of both, he thought, and finally reached for his coffee as Naruto started talking.

"Now, I know what you're thinking," Naruto started, all traces of his boyish grin gone, replaced with a relaxed, confident, half-grin. "YouTube? Yes, YouTube talent is outdated, a thing of the past, but what I've discovered, by the luckiest of chances, is something intriguing, different, a National Geographic treasure. An interview. It's exactly what we, what you, have been looking for."

Naruto let the words sink in for a moment as part of the theatrics. Sasuke noticed some of his panel start to lean back, slouched down in preparation for another boring or, in Naruto's case, insane idea that usually ended up working for the most part with some tweaking on Hinata's end. But still, some of them...Sasuke winced at the thought.

"I could ramble on, like I usually do," some people chuckled, others grumbled, all in agreement, "but I think a picture would do a much better job this time around. A picture of more than a thousand words."

The next slide indeed had a picture on it, one that made not only Sasuke, but the entire panel straighten in their seats. It was like a zap of electricity had gone through all he seats with how fast everyone went from dull eyed and slow brained to wide awake.

Sasuke was glad Naruto was taking his time, letting the picture linger on the screen for everyone to absorb the pink haired girl leaning back against a male lion, its body curled around her, its paw in her lap. She was smiling, squinting into the afternoon sun, cheeks slightly burnt. Her pale green cargo pants looked worn with dirt and grass stains, the ends turn and half tucked into a pair of sturdy, broken in boots.

The whole thing was bright, the sunlight, the colors, her smile, her. It was the completely opposite of him in every way, so he didn't understand why he couldn't look away.

Most women Sasuke came across were dressed nicer, smelling of perfume with perfectly lipstick lined lips, but this woman was none of that. And yet, she seemed so real, so happy, so different.

When Naruto finally moved onto the next slide, Sasuke felt like he could breathe again. He listened to the details about this woman like the words were drops of water and he was dying of thirst.

Sakura Haruno. 28 years old. Grew up in Japan before, at 18, moving to Africa to start research with the renown Tsunade. Takes care of lions and hyenas mainly, studying their lifestyle, needs, and ways to keep them from going extinct.

Naruto showed them an interview of her, one of many according to him, but none of them had garnered much attention. It was surprising, considering what she was doing.

"This is big," Naruto stated as the panel drank in the sight of Sakura calling out for a 'Scruff', a male lion they find out when he comes into view, running right at her.

Sasuke felt his heart slam in his chest. He was genuinely afraid for her even though he'd seen the picture in the beginning and should've therefore known better. Except lions were dangerous, wild creatures, and a pink haired woman hugging a lion, its paws wrapped around her back as it rubbed its furry face against hers, was never the first mental picture someone had when thinking about lions.

In the video she was laughing as she started talking to the lion in a familiar tone like it could be her own child or something.

"Now that I have your attention," Naruto smirked at them knowingly, his eyes finding Sasuke's own mesmerized ones.

The next slide showed how Uchiha Technology could benefit from joining with this woman and her cause.

"It's the perfect juxtaposition. Nature and technology working together, and we'll have an environmental cause to boost our image," Naruto continued, sweeping his hand up to the presentation to point out specific bullet points. "We can use our connections and a portion of proceeds, with a small price increase on our end of course, to give these animals what they need."

"We'll be one step ahead of everyone else," one panel member said, looking around. "Rumor has it major international corporations are thinking of heading down a more green path."

Naruto pointed at him. "Exactly! You beat me to it, my man." He looked back at Hinata, confirming something when she nodded her head. "Now, after one last, short video, I'll open the floor to questions."

The room grew dark as he finished talking and they were presented with boots Sasuke immediately recognized as Sakura's. She took one step after another, the camera pinned to her shirt's collar swaying lightly with each breath. He could hear the crunch her feet made over grass and dirt and rocks, his ears straining for the next step and the next and the next and the next.

He didn't think things could get better and then she straightened and he was presented with the far off smear of deep reds blending into oranges melting into gold of an African sunset. She made her way towards the light, pushing the waist high grass to each side of her as she walked; slow, smooth, _deliberate_ like a ritual.

"They need this," she said softly, just above the low whistle of the wind. There was a rustling sound, growing louder, closer. In his gut he knew what it was before he saw it, waited on the edge of his seat for it. "We need this."

Three lions raced past her, breaking past the edge of the tall grass onto open land. It was like they were chasing the sun, faster than a lot of animals out there but still appearing to go slower than their full potential. He didn't know if they were taking their time or waiting for Sakura to catch up. One of them looked over its shoulder at her and he felt like it was him the lion was making eye contact with.

Sasuke didn't know what Sakura meant by 'it' but in his own mind, 'it' meant life, living.

The video ended to silence so thick Sasuke swore he could hear the traffic a hundred stories below. He ran his tongue over his dry lips, clenched an iron fist over the jumbled internal mess and then raised one hand slightly, one finger up to get Naruto's attention as the lights became brighter.

Without waiting for Naruto to speak, Sasuke said in a nonchalant voice that completely belied what he was feeling on the inside, "Intriguing indeed. Just curious, what is it the animals need? If I'm going to be putting my money into this, I'd like to know what exactly I'm buying."

Scratching the back of his neck with blunt fingernails, Naruto smiled sheepishly.

"I meant to mention this earlier, but we haven't been able to contact her yet," he explained. "We've done everything we could short of going to Africa."

Sasuke smirked, starting to feel like his old, confident, I'll-do-what-I-want-because-I-can self, already regaining control as an idea formed. Although he didn't know what exactly would come after her finding him on her doorstep, he could guarantee that his initial reaction to his woman was not something that would last. His chest felt like with anticipation.

"When do we leave?" he asked.

* * *

I really enjoyed writing this because I wanted to play with Sakura's effect on Sasuke without them even meeting. This has become my absolute favorite thing I have written to date in terms of SxS fanfiction and so I've decided to remove it from the oneshot collection I have and post it as its own piece.

Some reviewers have expressed their excitement that this is going to be its own piece, but I just wanted to clarify that it is still the SAME THREE PIECE STORY from **Unwilling Juliet, Unsuspecting Romeo** and at this point in time  NO NEW WRITTEN CONTENT/CHAPTERS WILL BE ADDED. I would love to continue this story but at this time it is not on my list of things to write. I'm sorry if I mislead anyone in believing otherwise; that wasn't my intent. My intent was to post this separately because I see it as more than just a small oneshot piece but as a full story and didn't want it to be swallowed up in my oneshot collection when it deserves so much more.


	2. Numbered

Warning: **language. sex.** violence. Rating is mature to be safe.

Disclaimer is on my page.

Happy Sunday!

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... _Wildest Dreams..._

 _Part Two: Numbered_

When she opened the door, more than a little annoyed at her shower time being cut short by persistent knocking, she was not expecting two handsome men in suits and a beautiful blue haired woman.

Ungracefully, she swore and promptly slammed the door in their surprised faces. She felt slightly guilty, the woman's face had been so red it was hard to tell if she was embarrassed or choking on something.

"Give me a minute," she shouted through the door to them, more than expecting them to turn around and high tail it out of there after what'd just happened. They were dressed on the nicer side and she swore again at the prospect of a lost opportunity, whether it be another interview or maybe, hopefully, miraculously, a business proposition that would help with the wildlands.

She clutched her towel to her body and sprinted back to her room. Throwing it off, she threw on the first clothes she found, faintly realizing with a cringe they were the dirty ones she'd left in a heap on the floor last night. Ripping those off, she ran out of her room.

Searching around for something nicer, she remembered the stacks of clean clothes on her kitchen table. Combing her hair into a braid with her fingers, she flew into the kitchen and dug around until she found the dark green, simple dress she'd been searching for, letting the rest of the stack of clothes slouch sideways into a messy pile she promised herself she'd refold later.

As she was sliding the dress over her head, she realized the front window's blinds were down, but open to let some of the sunlight come through. She squealed and tugged the dress down, face almost as red as the blue haired woman's, as she stared at the profile of the dark haired man leaning against the railing on the top step. He hadn't seemed to notice her moving around in her kitchen and she took a deep, calming breath to gather her wits before she went and opened the door again.

The three of them looked more relaxed than when she'd originally answered. The dark haired man leaned against the railing on her front step, the blond sat on the bottom step and the woman stared at the buildings on the horizon. They all looked up at the sound of the door opening and the dark haired man stepped forward. She expected him to smile as part of his introduction, but his lips only twitched in the hint of one.

She waited for him to say something and finally he seemed to gather himself because he cleared his throat and held out his hand. She took it, matching his strong grip with her own, and ignored the goosebumps. Blaming it on the cold morning air, she crossed her arms over her chest as he spoke.

"We're here from Uchiha Technology," the man started, putting his hands in his pockets. Jesus, even his _voice_ gave her goosebumps, demanding attention and sharp just like his jaw. She scolded herself and wrapped her fingers tighter over her elbows. She returned her attention to his words and found her manners somewhere in the soles of her feet, motioning for them to come inside. Once they were through the door, she went off to find her planner, finally locating it under her notebook on the couch.

"I'm sorry," she said as she flipped through the pages and landed on today, the square blank, "were we supposed to have an interview today?"

The blond shook his head and flopped down on the couch, not bothered by the way his suit wrinkled up. "Actually, we tried contacting you several times, but we couldn't get ahold of you so we decided face to face might work better."

Sakura dropped the planner on a stack of books on the floor next to the couch. When she'd first moved in three years ago after leaving Tsunade's place, she'd planned on getting a bookshelf, but still hadn't gotten around to it.

"You _flew_ here just to talk to me?" She instantly felt guilty for not having a better handle on her shit. She swore she'd clean up this place, not that it was dirty per say but merely disorganized to the point where people had to fucking fly here just to get her attention. The place was small, cluttered in some spots like the coffee and kitchen tables with documents and stacks of what she hoped were clean clothes, while the counter was organized like her desk in her room.

There was an urge to start cleaning now, like she could pause the three of them in her living room and tidy up around them and then un-pause and start fresh, but that was impossible judging by the way the dark haired man's eyes roamed every inch with what, interest? Disgust? Disappointment? She reasoned that if she'd known they were coming, she would've cleaned up what she could.

"I'm sorry about that," she said and tried to keep the redness of her face at a minimum as she perched on the arm of the sofa at the other end of where the blond was sitting. How many times would she have to apologize for her lifestyle? Whether to her family, friends, old boyfriends, these people? "I'm not the best with technology."

Looking around, she realized she didn't even know where her phone was and made a mental note—Jesus Christ the list was growing by the second—to find it later and charge it since she assumed it was dead by now.

"Don't worry, neither is Hinata," the blond remarked and there was a small noise of protest from the other woman. She stood behind Naruto, one hand on the back of the couch, and he turned in his seat to nudge her forearm playfully. "I'm just kidding, you know that!"

Sakura could tell Hinata wanted to roll her eyes or smile or do something in reaction to his comment, but she was so tense she just looked at him and nodded.

"So I'm guessing you're here about the animals," she said to break the short silence. She had a tendency to be impatient, unable to sit idle when she could be doing something. It wasn't that she was annoyed with the three of them for being here, in fact it was nice to have company that could talk back and they'd flown all this way to see her, but she had a large list of stuff to do like cleaning her house among other things. Plus they looked like walking zombies, exhausted and worn in their designer suits, but still impeccable and high class.

The dark haired man, who she'd finally allowed herself to admit was quite handsome and totally _off-limits,_ nodded and stood from his perch against the kitchen counter.

"We apologize, it's been a long flight and the time different is throwing us off," he explained and came closer to stand next to Hinata's stiff form. "We're here for the animals. My name's Sasuke Uchiha, this is Hinata Hyuuga and that's Naruto Uzumaki. We're here to invest in the wild lands."

The moment the words were out of his mouth, her entire face lit up with a grin. She jumped to her feet with a clap of her hands, startling Hinata so much Sakura swore she got whiplash.

"I wasn't expecting _that_ ," she said and ran into her bedroom, coming back with some glossy photographs. "Now, before you get into anything, I want to show you these guys and then tomorrow we can go meet them. If you're up for it of course. And then we can sit down and talk."

Naruto sprang up, pumping his fist in the air in a manner that was totally not expected from a guy in a multi-thousand dollars suit. "Hell yeah we want to go!"

He saw the nervous look on Hinata's face and was around the couch and at her side in a second, cupping her elbow. "Don't worry, you can sit in the back with me, Hinata," he said and then leaned closer, whispering, "or on my lap."

"Oh for the love of God," Sasuke muttered as he dragged his hand down his face and then threatened, "if you two get into that bullshit, I swear I'm going to throw you out the window so the lions can eat you and I'll be laughing the entire time."

Naruto gasped theatrically, one hand on his chest, and said, "You think you can take me? When pigs fly, asshole, _when pigs fly_."

"Oh, I'll make you fly alright," Sasuke said and started to push up his sleeves, gearing up for a fight they all knew was in jest; well maybe not Sakura at this point, but she'd eventually catch on.

Naruto made a 'pfft' sound but still moved behind Hinata, using her as a shield as he countered, "You'll have to get through Hinata first. Good luck with that."

Hinata looked at Sakura with so red of a face it was purple and that drew Naruto and Sasuke's attentions back to her as well. She stood there with a gaping mouth, pictures all but forgotten in her hand.

"Sorry," Hinata squeaked, putting her palms against her cheeks to cool them down. "I-I swear we're more professional than this."

Sakura shook her head, laughter rumbling up her throat. "You're all so _different_ from when you first came in. I like it."

She remembered she was holding the photos and handed them to Sasuke, their fingers bumping in her haste to move on with things.

"They're completely harmless if you stay in the car, of course," she explained and pointed to the lion on the left in the picture. "That's Nagi, one of the female lions. She loves to have her chin scratched, I think because of the scar she got as a cub. It itches sometimes, plus I'm sure it feels good."

Quietly, Sasuke stood at her side, glancing over her shoulder at the pictures as she went through them, talking like these were her best friends rather than animals. They were close ups, whiskers and different shades of hair in crystal clear detail. It looked like the person who'd taken them knew what they were doing. He assumed Sakura had taken them by the personal feel of each one and, looking around once more because he just couldn't seem to get enough of this insight into her life, he spotted the forgotten camera on another stack of books.

He looked at her, the spot behind her ear, and wondered what was so intriguing about her. What set her apart from other woman in his mind? There was a spark of determination to find out, but he pushed it away into the back corners of his mind. She was a business deal, strictly _off-limits_ , and the only interest he should've had was in seeing the future benefits of working with her.

She kept chattering away to Naruto and Hinata, seeming to forget all about him. He found it amusing, different, from the usual groveling company he kept, most hoping for something or another out of their connection with him. Naruto and a few others were the only ones he truly felt comfortable calling his friends. He could tell whatever Sakura wanted, she got it her own way through sweat and blood. If they became friends, which would be inevitable since he'd have to come back for two to three months to get the investment started, she would keep a good head on her shoulders and not be influenced by him.

His eyes once again roamed and he noticed the signs indicating she lived alone. There weren't many pictures, but the ones he could see consisted of her family, a mom and dad, neither with pink hair he mused, with Tsunade or the animals. It reminded him of his own place, except he was neat so his didn't look as lived in as hers.

Sakura pushed a dangling piece of hair from her face, accidentally elbowing him in the process. She shot him a quick 'sorry' over her shoulder before turning back to the pictures. Naruto chuckled and removed his jacket, asking if they could sit down.

"Oh! I'm being so rude, taking up all your time when you probably want to go to your hotel and sleep," she said and twisted the pictures, rolling them between her fingers until they curled in naturally. Glancing at them, she moved around the couch and dropped them on the coffee table over a stack of papers.

He didn't realize how close he'd been standing to her until she'd moved away, taking her warmth and the smell of lemon and sunlight with her. _Off-limits,_ jackass.

Naruto had already settled on the couch and Hinata made to sit next to them. He hovered, looking at the door, wanting to get out of there, distance himself.

Sakura noticed the direction of his eyes and looked at him with a raised brow. "I hope I'm not boring you," she said.

It was the polar opposite, in fact, but he couldn't tell her that. Fuck no. He could tell Naruto and Hinata didn't want to leave and while he himself wanted to settle down in this place that was more homey than the hotel they were staying at, he was afraid he'd get too attached too fast if he didn't pace himself. There was so much going on, with his senses, with his thoughts. Information overload, breaking him down one molecule at a time.

"Not at all," he said as he moved towards the door. "Unfortunately, we have to go take care of some other business."

His gut twisted at the sight of her face falling and before he could put a foot in his mouth to shut the fuck up, he added, "But if you're interested, we could all have dinner later. You know this place better than the Internet does and we have a lot of things to go over for the business deal, if you decide to accept it that is."

"Sounds great," she agreed, smiling in that bright, blinding way again. He wondered if her cheeks ever hurt from smiling so much. She played with the hem of her dress, rolled it between her fingers absentmindedly, and in the process flashed a smooth thigh that sent Sasuke's heart rate up into the triple digits.

Naruto caught his eye from behind her back as he stood and gave him two thumbs up. He didn't know if Naruto was doing it in regards to the deal, not that they needed much luck when he thought about her initial reaction, or to the fact that he kind of just asked her out, even if Naruto and Hinata were going to be there. He never asked woman to have dinner or any meal with him, business deal or not. He always let them come to his office, to him, because chasing just wasn't his thing.

And then he thought about how he'd flown all the way to Africa for fuck's sake and he hadn't even met her yet.

* * *

"Sorry, Naruto's _still_ getting ready," Sasuke said on the other end. Sakura sighed and turned off her Jeep, left it parked in the front unloading area and headed into the lobby. The hotel was right in the middle of the industry district where everything thrived and people who stayed here had deep pockets and time to kill. She wasn't surprised they were staying here, she'd done some research on Uchiha Tech before their dinner last night and even after. It was safe to say their grandchildren's' grandchildren would be well off.

"What floor?" she asked and waited for the elevator to arrive. Her finger traced the wooden panel next to the doors and then passed the ridge to feel the smoothness of the marble leading up to the ceiling.

"You're coming up? 46," he said and then off, in the distance, "Oi, put some clothes on. Sakura's coming up."

"He's not even dressed? What's he doing?" The doors opened and she stepped in, pressing 46 at the very top of the row, the top floor. She wondered how architects decided on the number of floors like 'let's just stop at 46, I like that number, it was the age of my mother before she passed.'

"Making ramen, fucking around, the usual," he muttered. "He's worse than a teenage girl."

"Oh, let me put my makeup on now and curl my hair," came a girlish squeal from the other end and Sakura couldn't help but giggle.

"Do _not_ encourage him," Sasuke threatened and sighed. There was a rustling and she assumed he was running his hand through his hair, already spun up at 9 a.m. If they were dating, she would've started rubbing his neck and shoulders by now to relieve some of the tension. The thought made her choke on her spit so that it went down the wrong pipe and she started coughing like a chain smoker.

"Sakura? You okay?" came Sasuke's voice, his worried tone not helping any.

"Yeah," she croaked and the doors finally opened to reveal a two-story penthouse three times the size of her house. Sasuke stood there in a pair of slacks, his shirt unbuttoned to reveal the white t-shirt underneath, phone still to his ear. He let it drop as he took in her cargo pants and tank top. They were polar opposites in dress and, when she thought about that little black seed in the back of her mind, worlds.

"Hey," he said like they hadn't just been talking on the phone for the past ten minutes. He shoved his cell in his pocket and led her further into the room.

"This is fancy," was all she could come up with as she looked around, turning in slow circles to take in every inch of a kind of luxury she'd never seen before. Sometimes, if she squinted hard enough, she could see the hotel from her driveway, far off in the distance, unreachable, untouchable. Everything was shiny and sleek and she was sure if she chipped even the smallest thing, it would take her a lifetime to pay it back. Sasuke looked perfectly in place here, comfortable with this lifestyle in the way he leaned back against the counter of the kitchen with a wine glass filled with water and waited for her to finish scanning every detail.

"Do you want anything?" he finally asked, drawing her attention away from the floor to ceiling windows and the breathless view outside.

She shook her head and moved towards the window, Sasuke following. "I've never seen a view like this before."

He snorted beside her and she looked up in surprise, momentarily forgetting where she was and what she was going to say as she took in the way the sun made his face gold and his eyes spark. If he knew she was staring at him, he made to acknowledgement of it and she managed to gather herself enough to ask, "What?"

"You've seen better than this. I saw your video, well one of them, where you're showing the sunset with the GoPro cam," he explained and saw her nod out of the corner of his eye, "and it was amazing. That's what sold it for me."

"Not the lions?" she asked and realized she was twisting the hem of her shirt around her finger and forced herself to stop. It was a nervous habit and she told herself she had nothing to worry about. Except she felt Sasuke didn't normally share his thoughts with people and yet here he was doing so with her, making her stomach flutter like she'd just jumped out the window of this 46th floor penthouse.

"Yeah, the lions were part of it too. They need a habitat like that, where it feels open and free and _infinite_ and we need beauty like that, we need the reminder that there's still good out there in some way and we can protect it." He felt his heart hammering in his chest. Something about her made him open up, like a clam opening in steam after being shut tight for so long, and it felt so damn good to be listened to and understood.

She moved her hand closer to his, felt the heat of his fingers as she said, "There's plenty of good things out there we haven't ruined yet, you just have to look for them and I think you are."

Their fingers touched and he didn't pull away like she expected him to. She felt his palm glide over hers, pressing firmly and then snap back like he'd been shocked as Naruto came bounding down the stairs, Hinata behind him ushering him along. She held his shirt as he slurped on a bowl of ramen and he managed not to get it all down his bare front or trip down the stairs.

"S'kura, you want some ramen?" Naruto asked from inside his bowl, his eyes looking at her over the rim.

Sakura stepped away from the window, already feeling a million miles away from the moment her and Sasuke had just had. It made her feel cold, like the sun had just set, leaving her in the dark, frigid air. Crossing her arms, she glared at Naruto and said, "No thanks, I ate before I left so I'd be _on time_ but clearly that was all for nothing."

Sasuke chuckled behind her and even Hinata hid a smile behind her hair.

"We can go," Naruto said after swallowing, "I can eat on the way."

Sakura cringed and then sighed, ready to get a move on things. "Fine, but if you so much as spill a drop in my car, I'll _really_ feed you to Scruff. He hasn't had a treat in so long."

Naruto set the bowl on the counter and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He smiled wearily and said, "All done."

* * *

"Nagi!" Sakura yelled, taking a few steps away from the car. She cupped her hands around her mouth and called for the lion again.

Sasuke watched her closely, every wire in his body finely tuned to the way she moved. His muscles hummed and he swore if any of the lions threatened her well being, he'd jump from the car and fight them bare handed if needed. He realized his eyes were on her ass and focused on the windshield, internally wincing at how cave man he seemed to have become. It'd only been two fucking days.

Something was coming closer. They could all see the way the brush moved, hear the paws hitting the ground. His breath picked up and he clenched his fist on his knee.

"Nagi," Sakura yelped as a regal lion came into view, running straight for Sakura. Right before it smacked into her, it reared up on its hind legs and wrapped its front paws around her shoulders, pulling her in close and rubbing its face along hers.

He watched her shoulder muscles bunch, could imagine her slender legs doing the same, calves taunt and thighs locked, under the weight of Nagi.

"Good thing she doesn't have allergies," Naruto joked from the back seat, but it was half-hearted. They were all entranced at this odd site even though they'd seen it in her videos and interviews. There was something different about seeing it in real life that made it more true and unbelievable than it had been before.

Sasuke felt a small flame of jealousy, but he played it off as not being as badass as Sakura and being able to play with lions instead of the fact that these lions were able to get so close to her physically and emotionally while he felt exactly as he was: in a car behind a locked door, unable to touch her in her grandest moments.

"I missed you," Sakura crooned to the lion as it lowered back to the ground. She rubbed its ears, twisting them this way and that with a smile while talking to the gang over her shoulder. "The softest fur is located on the ears."

"Jesus Christ, she's _playing_ with it like it's some dog and not something that could bite off her hand at any moment," Naruto thought aloud and Sasuke ground his teeth, once more reminded of the danger of the situation. Except she'd been doing this for years and if it hadn't happened by now, then what were the chances?

So he focused on the way the sun turned her hair a lighter shade. The higher it got in the sky, the whiter her hair became until she was practically glowing and she wasn't even doing anything but laying on the ground, leaning against the lion she called Scruff. Her muscles bunched in her arm as she scratched his chest, legs crossed, head haloed by lion hair.

He wanted to join her so bad, to share in this experience with her and become closer. _Off-limits_ and don't you forget it you little shit. But this was just another thing they were separated in and there was nothing he could do about it because she'd been training with these lions since they were cubs and the second he stepped foot out of this car they'd come at him like he was their next meal.

"Prince," Sakura squealed and then the car shook. "My car is not a plaything, you wanton cat. If you want a scratching then come over here."

Sasuke's head snapped around as did Naruto and Hinata's and they saw another lion, this one slightly smaller and most definitely male, peering in the window at them. It stared at Sasuke through the driver side window and time turned elastic. Neither moved. All Sasuke could hear was his own breathing and the low grumble of Prince.

Something smacked into his window and he nearly jumped, turning back to find Sakura gazing at him through the slightly dusty glass. There was a handprint where she'd tried to startle him and she was frowning at her failure to do so.

The car was an older one so he had to manually roll down the window. She watched his arm move up and down, the way his shoulder tensed and relaxed with each cycle until the window was down all the way.

She leaned her elbows on the window, one eyebrow raised, "Took you long enough, twig arms."

Naruto coughed in the back, trying to hide his laugher, but it was obvious because Naruto was never quiet or subtle at anything.

Sasuke lifted his own eyebrow and lowered his sunglasses so he could peer at her over them. Ray-bans looked good on him Sakura admitted and added it to the growing list of things she liked about him.

"It wouldn't take me so long if your car wasn't from the Stone Age," he retorted and crossed his arms, leaning back in his seat until Nagi decided to pop up next to her, her snout searching and then her eyes.

"Off-limits, babe," Sakura said to her and angled her body so she filled the whole window and resumed leaning on her elbows. Nagi whined behind her and then nudged her backside, sending her half into the car. One hand landed on Sasuke's thigh, the other on his shoulder and there was an audible smack as their heads collided.

"Jesus, Nagi!" Sakura practically growled and straightened, leaving a tingling where her hands had been. "Roll up the window, we're going to see the hyenas."

The three lions chased the car, Prince right outside Sasuke's window, until one by one they dropped off into the dust settling in the growing distance.

The hyenas were just as playful but more mobile. Sakura spent a good ten minutes chasing them around for fun and then they got the large metal cage out and she set about constructing it.

The three of them were more than happy to get out of the car even if they still had a metal cage separating them from the open. The hyenas came up, flocking around them and trying to fit their noses through the small squares. Naruto tried to get one to sniff his hand, but it backed off when he crouched down.

"It's cause you smell," Sasuke pointed out with a smirk, "and I don't mean that in a good way."

"You never mean anything you say to me in a good way," Naruto countered, never taking his eyes off the pack. They ran around, nipping at each others heels and then taking off like a bunch of little kids. In a way, they reminded Sasuke of Naruto and his free spirited playfulness. They yipped and barked and occasionally ran up to Sakura for a good scratching.

Sasuke had to admit she was good with her hands. He turned away, feeling heat course through his body that had nothing to do with the afternoon sun. This was dangerous ground he was treading on and he had to be careful. There was too much to worry about with a relationship with her. He just had to focus on keeping his head on his shoulders until he's gone and then he'll be in the clear.

* * *

But really, who was he kidding himself. When he went back to the States the following week, he barely went a day without emailing her. There was this pull and he'd start imagining her around in his everyday life, how she'd react to things, how she'd look sitting on his pristine black leather couch in her grass stained cargo pants and tank top showing off her glowing skin.

When she finally responded it was quicker than he'd expected. He secretly believed she'd been waiting for him, but knew he'd just gotten lucky.

And so he called up Karin, invited her over, and would've shouted Sakura's name to the heavens if he had any less self-control and if it'd been more pleasurable. Afterwards, he kicked her out and sat on the kitchen floor drinking a bottle of champagne someone had give to him, feeling like the asshole he was.

His fingers danced over the unlock button of his cell, temptation coursing through his veins. He could already hear her voice in his ear, scratchy from sleep and pissed off at being woken, and glanced down to see he'd unconsciously typed in his password and was on the dial screen. Her number was a permanent mark in his head and not just because had a good memory.

With a sigh, he took another long gulp and let his head fall back against the cabinet, wondering where he'd been in a year from now and if he'd still see this situation as such a fucking pain in the ass, a black hole sucking away at his sanity.

* * *

Sakura tried her best not to reach out to him because really, who was she compared to his mighty world of hundred dollar glasses of champagne and billionaires' daughters. So she checked her email every morning as part of a new lifestyle where she stayed on top of her shit and didn't let it pile up on the coffee table. At least, that's what she told herself when her stomach dropped at the lack of communication from Sasuke.

It was hard because she'd seen him in her world, in her home, and so it was quite easy to imagine him leaning against the counter while she cooked dinner, making some sarcastic remark or leaning out the window of her Jeep as she played with the lions and hyenas, his ray-bans perched on his nose as he looked over the rims at her. It'd been physically real and she could picture every detail, whether it was just some imagination or a true memory and it was so fucking hard to go from empty space to someone filling it even for a little bit to empty space again.

One morning, still half asleep, she finally got a message from him. 'How are you doing?' was all it said, but it zapped her like a rush of adrenaline and she smiled so hard her cheeks started to hurt.

* * *

Eventually they graduated up to video chat. Sometimes it was easy to find time and other times it was the middle of night for him and her lunch break. Sasuke always started it out with business talk like he was trying to play it safe before giving up and letting the conversation eventually wander off into their personal lives.

While Sakura loved talking to him, it made things harder because she desperately yearned for the physical side of things. She had no clue if Sasuke was attracted to her like she was him and it would be stupid to assume such a thing when it came to someone like him. Girls probably lined up around the block for him, no doubt, and she'd never been brought up in high society like that or even really known him that long to know what his patterns were.

They took a week off from communication here and there due to Sasuke's busy work schedule and her late nights at the research center. When they didn't email or video chat Sakura didn't know what to do with her time. She scolded herself for letting some guy have so much control over her life and so she took up photography again, playing around with the pictures on her computer and finally getting one of her personal favorites printed out and framed.

She was in the middle of hanging it on the wall, right between the two windows in the living room, when there was a knock on the front door. Looking at the clock, she clutched the hammer like a weapon and approached the door. Whoever was here this late at night, if looking for trouble, wouldn't like what they found.

Pushing the blinds of the window aside slightly, she peered out at her front step and promptly dropped the hammer in surprise.

"Sasuke?" she said as she opened the door, eyes wide and mouth wider.

"Did you drop something?" he asked and looked past her at the floor, spotting the hammer. "Do I _look_ like a burglar?"

"What're you doing here?" She couldn't believe he was on her doorstep. After imagining him coming back for a couple weeks, she'd given up on the thought because it was too mentally exhausting and depressing, but here he was. She wanted to reach out and poke him in the chest, just to be sure, but refrained.

"I've got two months to finalize the business deal and set everything up," he explained and hovered just outside her door like he wasn't sure if he was allowed to come in or not.

"Shit, come in, sorry," she said in a rush and stepped aside, opening up her home to him. Her fingers picked at a loose thread at the edge of her pajama top and she internally battled whether to hug him or not. They were friends now, after all, but she knew he didn't like being touched and they hadn't ever really been friends face to face, not since the beginning when they were more business partners than anything else. She decided to keep her distance rather than scare him off within the first minute.

He started to explain the whole two-month startup program where they'd brainstorm and negotiate and settle on a concrete contract. She looked out at the starless sky in the distance as she went to close the door. Instead, she realized it had started down pouring and screeched like a banshee.

"My car!" she screamed, cutting him off in the middle of his speech, and raced out into the rain in her pajamas, barefoot, waving her arms like a madwoman. "Shit, Sasuke grab the keys!"

He watched her for a moment with a roll of his eyes and a smirk before yelling back, "Where are they?"

"Kitchen table!" She pushed her wet hair out of her eyes and looked with panic at the growing wet spots on her seats. The wind pushed the rain horizontal, allowing the rain to slip through the windows easily. She yanked on all the door handles and then tried to reach the lock through the half open window, but was too short and the window was rolled up too high so she resorted to crawling through the back window as it'd been lowered more than the front ones. Her hips got stuck halfway in and she dangled there, trying to grab onto the seat and pull herself in or get some leverage with her feet against the door but failed miserably at both.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Sasuke asked behind her and she glared at him when she realized he was laughing. He was now soaked through as well since he decided to spend his time making fun of her rather than being of any help.

"Jesus Christ, Sasuke, are you going to help me or stand there all night?" she growled at him and he stepped up behind her and helped lift her enough to wiggle through even though he had the keys in his pocket. She pushed against his chest with her feet, catching him in the jaw with her heel, and managed to get through. Landing on the back seat, she rolled over and massaged her hips to ease the pain. There'd definitely be bruises later.

"Maybe you should lay off the desserts," Sasuke suggested with a glint in his eye even as he held his jaw. She gave him the middle finger and went about rolling up the back windows while he did the front.

Then they ran back into her house and slammed the door as a fuck you to the rain.

"It's all muscle," she said a while later as they sat on the floor, him with a bag of frozen mixed vegetables against his jaw and her with a glass of Jack and coke balanced on one knee. They'd gone from soaking wet to damp because Sasuke had no clothes to change into and Sakura didn't feel like getting up so she settled for smirking like she'd just won a gold medal in the Olympics. Sport: bringing Sasuke harm.

"Muscle, my ass. That's fucking ten tons of—"

Whatever he was going to say got swallowed up by Sakura's lips. She couldn't handle it anymore and while she'd been patient enough to wait for him to reach out to her after he'd left, if she waited one more minute for him to make a move she was going to go crazy. It didn't help the way his wet clothes clung to his body and gave his skin a irresistible sheen that made her want to run her tongue along every inch of his body.

At first he didn't respond and she wondered if she'd read it all wrong. She wasn't stupid by any means and she knew she wasn't terrible looking either, but maybe the whole thing had been over her head and he really was here for pure business.

She pulled back, rubbing her thumb over her lower lip to occupy herself and sat back on his thighs, suddenly ashamed at herself for being so forward when she had no idea how he felt.

"I'm sorry," she whispered into the silence between them and started to scoot back, to retreat to her spot against the opposite cabinet and down her Jack and coke, get another and call it a night. But he didn't let her get past his knees. His hands caught her around the waist and pulled her back in until their hips were flush and they were sucking in the same air.

He kept her caged against his chest with her arms, thinking _finally_ it's happening after four goddamn months, and grabbed the back of her neck and yanked her back in until their teeth clashed and she was sucking his tongue into her mouth.

It was hard to maintain control when her hands were everywhere, on his shoulders, tugging on the waist of pants as she rocked against him, sliding up his neck and down his chest, cupping his cock.

The mixed vegetables were forgotten on the floor as Sasuke stood, hands hooked under her ass to keep her pressed against him and her hands away from that area so he didn't lose it and take her on the floor or against the wall. It'd be fun, but for a different time, not their first. He moved towards the hallway and reached a door, unable to see or focus with Sakura's tongue in his mouth, wrapping around his own and running along the ridges of his teeth.

She pulled away for breath and said against his lips, "That's the bathroom. Next one."

When they finally made it to the bed, she'd already yanked her shirt off and was making quick work on his neck, nipping at his pulse and collarbone and tugging his shirt down so she could reach more. He set her on the bed so she was standing over him and sucked at the skin above her bra like he'd been denied water for a thousand years.

Her fingers urged his face up and even though the clouds covered the moon tonight she could still make out his features. Her forefinger traced the edge of his upper lip, pausing in the little dip before continuing on, up his cheekbone, past his temple and into his hair.

"I just want you to know," she said against his lips, his warm breath and his warm body heat and the warmth in his eyes engulfing her in a way that scared the shit out of her and yet she didn't back away, "that even though I was drinking, I'm completely sober. I want this."

He nodded, drawing their lips together, sealing the deal for a split second before leaning back to say, "Me too, even if you did kick me in the face."

Sakura chuckled and then slid down to her knees. Each button she undid she followed with a kiss until she was at the edge of his pants, tracing the zipper with a finger. He ripped his shirt off, feeling on fire all of a sudden.

"I'm sorry," she said with a pout and looked up at him through her lashes. "I can make it up to you, if you'd like."

"Is that even a question?" he muttered and stared down at her, nearly breathless at the sight of her. She was nowhere near model perfection, with her flushed, damp skin, hair starting to frizz, in her worn pajama bottoms and nude bra, and yet she was more than he could ask for, like a cooling breeze on a too hot summer day.

Her gaze went from burning to smoldering and right as she was about to yank down his zipper, he collapsed on top of her, settling them against the pillows, and captured her mouth again. He'd never get enough of her even if he had her every chance he got in the next two months. His teeth caught her lower lip when she tried to pull away and she pulled on his hair sharply, making him groan.

It took a moment for her to get her pajama bottoms off because his hands kept getting in the way, caressing the skin above the waistband and then dipping underneath to grasp her hip and pull her up against his own hard thrusts. When he finally backed off so she could be free of them, she rolled him onto his back and worked on his pants, surprising him by taking his underwear with it.

They weren't at the point of no return yet, but they were getting close. The way Sasuke was running his hands along her body, sliding them underneath her bra to get at her nipples and down her outer thighs and back up her inner thighs to the growing heat between her legs, Sakura had no doubt either of them could stop at this point. Going for the kill, she grasped his cock in a tight grip and watched him struggle to maintain control. It'd been a while, a really really long time if she was brutally honest, but she still knew how to do things.

She felt him unclasp her bra and she let go of him so he could pull it down her arms, but in the middle of doing so he rolled them back over and they settled there, him between her legs with only the thin fabric of her underwear separating them. One of his hands held her wrists to keep her from going for his cock again and while her bones felt fragile under his unrelenting grip, he knew she could handle it and even retaliate if she wanted.

"Not to be a buzz kill," she said and leaned up so could press kisses along his jaw, "but the condoms are in my dresser...over there."

Sasuke swore and jumped off her. She shuddered. It felt like wintertime and someone had just ripped the sheets from her body, letting all the cold in, and when Sasuke rejoined her she wrapped her limbs around him tightly. She wanted to tell him to never do that again, leave that is, but then her underwear was on the floor and his thumb was rubbing her clit skillfully and she was on her back trying to suck in air to lungs she swore had holes in them, the painting above the headboard upside down.

"Jesus Christ, you're good," she panted and felt her body twitch as she neared her peak, hips lifting to move against his fingers to create more friction and pressure. Yes, right there, _right there_.Jesus Christ, he was better than good. She moaned as everything went hazy with her impending orgasm the only thing she could focus on.

He backed off, ignoring her whine of disappointment, tracing her entrance with a finger teasingly and then pressing his cock against her. He ripped the foil and put on the condom as he sucked at her nipples, flicking one and then the other with his tongue before scraping them lightly with his teeth. One of her hands dug into his scalp, pushing and pulling like she wanted his mouth everywhere and didn't know how to deal with it, while the other hand curled around his shoulder. While she'd had control before, he had it now and he couldn't stand to torture her anymore because doing so tortured him.

Her head snapped forward when he filled her and he froze because even though it felt amazing and he knew it would only get better, she was really tense like a bow strung too tight. Her lips were pressed together so hard they'd lost all color and distantly wondered how long it'd been as he waited for her to readjust.

"You okay?" he asked in between kissing along her forehead and down her temple to her lips. She half-heartedly returned it. He ran his fingers through her hair repeatedly and brushed a strand from the corner of her lips. After a minute she nodded against him, exhaled a shaky breath, and then tilted her hips up so he sank a little bit deeper.

They started to rock together, heavy breathing and quiet moans that grew louder as their movement grew faster. He could feel her nails biting into his ribcage, anchoring onto his hips as he hooked his own hands under her ass to hoist her higher. He sank deeper, watched her back arch as she came undone with a long, drawn out moan that sent shivers down his spine. As her hips slowed, he reached down between them and started rubbing her clit until she was writhing beneath him again, clutching his biceps while she stared at his mouth.

He felt the tightening in his balls and pinched her clit and left nipple simultaneously, sending her over again. The tightening of her walls triggered his own release and they moaned together until their bodies stilled and he lowered himself so he was half on top of her. He slid out, discarded the condom in the trash, and then rejoined her, pulling her tight against his side.

"Jesus Christ, you're good." She kissed his shoulder as her eyes closed, body cooling down as her heart rate and breathing settled back to normal. He felt a sting and looked down at the scratch marks and then her smirk.

"I'll be lucky if I make it out of here alive," he muttered and then turned on his side so he could cocoon her with his body. He wasn't normally a cuddling type or even a spend the night after the deed kind of guy, but he knew if he went back to his hotel he'd spend the whole night wishing he was here, in bed with her, close so they could make the most of the next two months before he had to leave. He shook his head. He didn't even want to think about that, not when they'd just had a perfect moment.

"Don't get your hopes up," Sakura warned and tangled her legs with his. Her feet pressed against the backs of his calves to bring his legs closer and he yelped. She lifted herself onto her elbow, looking down at him with concern. "What? What's wrong?"

"Your feet are cold! Put some fucking socks on, will you?"

* * *

Here's part two out of three. I know this one has a lot more swearing in it (and sexual deeds woohoo) but I don't think anyone will be complaining (wink wink).

Thank you for reading everyone!


	3. Endless

Warning: **language. sex.** violence. Rating is mature.

Disclaimer is on my page.

* * *

... _Wildest Dreams_...

 _Part Three: Endless_

 **61 days left.**

Sakura woke expecting to find Sasuke next to her, but he'd been gone so long his warm spot had faded. It made her stomach twist and for one miniscule moment she worried he'd bolted. Then she smelled breakfast and got out of bed, slipped on her pajamas, and walked in on the sight of Sasuke flipped pancakes while music played from his cell phone.

"So you can cook," she remarked and leaned her hip against the counter next to him, mouth watering at the sound of sizzling. "Do I smell cinnamon?"

"Aa." He turned another pancake, revealing a perfectly golden brown side.

"Didn't even know I had it." She chuckled and started digging out plates, silverware, and cups. "Going through my stuff now, are we?"

"I started with your underwear drawer," he shot back, smirking at her sound of horror, and grabbed the plate she'd left for him, piling up a huge stack. He was about to head for the kitchen table and then remembered it was occupied. Turning, he found Sakura already sitting on the counter, legs crossed, waiting with a smile and a fork in her hand.

He joined her and they dug in, pouring chocolate syrup on their plates because Sakura didn't have any regular syrup.

Sakura moaned after the first bite, dramatically clutching the front of her shirt as she moaned again.

"Jesus Christ, keep doing that and I'm going to feel worthless in bed," he said between bites.

"Well, if you didn't make such damn good pancakes you wouldn't have anything to worry about," she teased and went back to looking at her plate. There was this fluttering feeling in her stomach at the way he made it sound like this wasn't just a one time thing. It sounded wonderful and terrifying at the same time. Her eyes found the calendar hanging next to the sink, still on last month, and the food in her mouth turned to ash.

"I'm very surprised you can cook," she said to take her mind off the future and shoveled another bite into her mouth to wash out the acid in the back of her throat. "Not gonna lie, I expected you to be the kind who ordered food to be brought in or something. People do that, right?"

Sasuke snorted and gave her an are-you-serious? look and swallowed before answering, "Lazy asses do and those who don't know how to cook, neither of which I am."

"Do you enjoy it?" she mumbled around her last bite of food, running her finger around to get the remaining chocolate syrup.

"Cooking? Yeah." His eyes zeroed in on her finger as she sucked on it and then released it with a pop. She smiled, a small smear of brown on her front tooth, and he could think of nothing else in that exact moment. Whatever he was going to say next fizzled out into the shrinking space between them as he dropped his plate with a clang and pressed forward until they were kissing. It was sweet and she let him into her mouth, shivering as his tongue ran along her teeth and then twisted with her own.

Breaking apart, he regained his breath as he continued, "It makes me feel useful in some way, gives me something to do to break the silence in my apartment."

"You're CEO of a company, you probably live in a million dollar bachelor pad and I can't even think of what else," she said behind her fingers, tracing her tingling lips. "You're far from useless. You've accomplished more than most people."

He shrugged and focused on his plate. The mention of bachelor freaked him the fuck out because he didn't know if the term still applied to him. Judging by the way Sakura was looking at him from under her curtain of hair, he knew she was thinking of the same thing. His eyes noticed the calendar next to the sink, one month behind, and counted quickly in his head. 61 days left until he had to leave. The flight home had been booked before he even left.

"Let's have a picnic," Sakura suggested out of the blue and then pointed at him, "but you have to cook the stuff. I'll help."

So they got ready, Sasuke in his clothes from yesterday and Sakura in clothes she assumed were clean. They spent the day in the sun in her backyard, lying there talking and napping and eating. She didn't feed him with her fingers and he didn't throw compliments her way. They sat cross legged across from each other, the epitome of friendship, except for the times they thought of last night and the times they couldn't help but kiss.

 **48 days left.**

Sasuke always managed to be in her driveway when she got home so she eventually gave him a key so he could go inside. It felt different, like she was coming from work to a real home. Sometimes he stayed the night and sometimes they slept. She didn't care what they were doing, as long as he was there.

One day, she invited him to come to work with her. So they went and he helped her clean Pippin, one of the elephants, and they both got soaked and she heard him laugh for the first time, really laugh.

"Shit!" he yelled as she got him again with the hose, right in the face. Then he was after her and they ran circles around Pippin who was waving his trunk and spraying water everywhere when he could.

"Pippin, help me!" Sakura laughed and got rained on with water. "That's not helping!"

Arms caught her around the waist and she playfully fought his grip before giving up and settling down in his arms. She turned in his arms, smiling up at him and out of breath, and leaned up to kiss him before pulling away and getting back to washing off Pippin.

After, they went back to the locker room and dried off as best they could before he caged her against the wall near the showers, lifted her wet shirt and dragged her bra down below her breasts, hoisting her nipples up so he could suck on them.

"Sasuke," she breathed and weakly tried to push on his shoulder, instead finding herself fisting his shirt to pull him closer, "we're at my work. We'll get caught."

"Then let's make it quick," he murmured against her skin, feeling a fire coil in his stomach at the sheer insanity of what he was suggesting. He'd never been this scandalous before, not with everyone always watching his every move, waiting to judge him or criticize him or gossip about him, but now he wanted Sakura _everywhere_. On his desk, in the open in her backyard, in his car, at her work. He wanted all of her, not just the wet spot between her legs that he felt when he rocked his hips against hers, but her laughter and fucking pink hair and the way she rolled her eyes while rocketing off some sarcastic remark.

Her hand in his pants gave him the green light and he spun her around, pulled down her shorts and underwear with one hand while unbuttoning his pants with the other, slid on the condom, and entered her with a groan.

"Shh," she said through gritted teeth as he pinched her nipple and ran his teeth down the back of her neck, over each vertebrae he could reach. Her hand ran down her body and found his curled around her hip, anchoring her to him. She grabbed his wrist, but didn't make him stop, instead tightened her hold like she was working hard to make him stay.

There was a thud as her forehead fell against the wall. She bit at the skin between her thumb and forefinger to hold back her moans and when she finally came, she felt his lips pressing into her shoulder hard. He rumbled as he came a moment later.

"That was..." she shuddered as he pulled out and watched him pull the condom off and pull up his pants. She stepped closer and kissed him with tongue while her hands went for the zipper of his pants.

"Round two?" he asked with a devious smile, but she shook her head as she zipped up his pants and buttoned them before moving on to her own.

"Later," she whispered and stepped away.

"I'm gonna hold you to that."

 **28 days left.**

Sakura knew they had less than a month left before he had to leave so she suggested he stay with her for the remainder of his trip.

"It'll be easier," she reasoned, twisting her fingers behind her back nervously, "and you'll be able to save some money."

She wanted to kick herself the second she said that because _come on, seriously Sakura?_ he's a fucking billionaire.

"Save some money," he repeated with one raised eyebrow. She knew he was about to say something sarcastic, his eyebrow was his tell. "Or is it that you just want me around so you can have me whenever?"

She rolled her eyes, but played along. "You got me. I just can't get enough of you."

He came around the kitchen table like a predator and grabbed her hips, pulling her flush against his body.

"Do you want me right now?" he whispered against her lips.

She swallowed thickly, heart beating so hard he could probably feel it, and whispered, "Always."

"Fucking hell." He kissed her hard, hands raking down her back and grabbing her ass in an effort to pull her closer. Then he swept everything off the table and hoisted her up. His hands hooked under her knees, dragged her to the edge, and spread her legs as he dropped to the ground and buried his head between them.

"You're—" Her words cut off in a mix of a heavy exhale and cry as she fell back against the table in a boneless heap. His hair was soft under her hands and she realized he hadn't even taken off her underwear yet and was already making her come undone.

"I'm what, Sakura?" he said against her inner thigh, nipping it lightly as he waited for her to come down a little so he could fire her back up to the edge again.

She whined, tugging on his scalp, and then leaned up on her elbows to glare at him. "You're a fucking ass—"

He gave one long lick to shut her up and then peered back up at her with a smirk. "I'm..."

"Amazing. You're fucking amazing," she whispered and looked him in the eye with such clarity, such a mix of desire and happiness and sadness that he momentarily forgot what he was doing.

"And you want me to stay, here, with you," he said and she nodded, biting her lip. They both knew she meant for more than just the night, more than just until the end of the month, but neither said it aloud because then it would be real and so much fucking harder to have a clean break.

Swallowing back all those emotions coming up his throat in the form of bile, he went back to work. He hooked a finger under her underwear and pulled it aside so he could taste her and give her release. It didn't take long as he scraped her clit with his teeth and sucked at her juices and entered her with his tongue. She rocked against his mouth as her moans became louder and more drawn out until her body bent like a bow and she spasmed under his mouth and hands until she came down from her high.

He stood and waited for her to sit up. When she did, he kissed her so she could taste herself on his mouth and she pressed back hard, filling every crevice she could with her smell and personality and body. She stood, sliding against his body until her feet touched the ground, and then started to walk to her room while pushing down her underwear.

Before she could get far, he grabbed her elbow and swung her around.

"No, wear them," he demanded.

"They're wet," she said but her fingers pulled them up anyways.

"Wear them and remember that my tongue was there," he continued in her ear even though they were alone in her house and no one would hear him anyways. "Imagine it there with each step you take, the dampness rubbing against you."

His fingers came down to lightly circle the spot under her dress, the same green dress she'd worn when they first met, and her knees nearly gave out. She was ready for another round, but he stepped back with a smirk and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" she asked. She crossed her arms, trying to block out her desire with anger, but it wasn't working very well.

"To get my things from the hotel," he said over his shoulder and then closed the door behind him.

 **15 days left.**

"Let's go somewhere," she said and when he asked where she shrugged and said they'd just drive until they found some place they liked. So they threw some clothes in the backseat and split up driving, switching off every two hours while the other kept a look out for some place to stay.

She watched him from behind her sunglasses drive her Jeep, the windows down and the wind rustling his hair like her fingers did when they had sex. It was a heavenly image and she grabbed her camera, snapping a shot before he realized what she was doing and could close up like he often did when there were others around.

"It's just for me," she promised and tucked her camera away again before resuming sticking her feet out the window and dozing. She didn't mind the pockets of silence, she was used to them and it came natural to both of them. When she was younger, she'd always been a talker, but with age brought maturity for her, which was more than she could say about her best friend Ino.

She smiled as she thought about Ino. Next time she was in the States, she swore she was going to visit her. Would she visit Sasuke too? Or was there an impending storm on the horizon waiting to tear everything down?

They stopped at a little market to eat, but Sasuke had to take a business call halfway through so they got back on the road. He was getting more of them lately, like the world back in the States was falling apart without him, and she chewed on her thumbnail as she drove. She was growing more and more anxious with each day.

"No, I'm not coming home," he paused, chest heaving like he'd just run a marathon instead of fighting whoever was on the other line. "Fine, give me a week."

More silence.

"Bye," he muttered into the phone and hung up. "I'm guessing you heard all that."

"Considering we have less than two feet between us, yeah."

"I've got a week," he informed her, staring straight ahead like a statue, "and then I have to fly back. You'd think they'd be fine on their own instead of needing me there to babysit them."

"Guess not," she said and couldn't think of anything else to add so she left it at that. She felt his hand on her thigh.

"We're going to have the best fucking week," he promised her and she smiled. Usually she was the optimistic one, but here he was trying to make her happy.

"Fuck yeah we are," she agreed and stepped on the gas. They didn't have any time to lose.

 **14 days left.**

"I can't believe you went back after that," he said as he traced the four long scars down her back from where Scruff had gotten her a couple years ago. It'd all been a misunderstanding, she claimed, and Scruff had only been like that for a split second. She still couldn't figure out what had triggered it and probably never would, but it she refused to let the unknown scare her away from what she loved.

 **9 days left.**

"I'm never eating anything again," she swore as she leaned over the toilet's rim and heaved. Sasuke sat next to her, holding her hair and rubbing her back simultaneously, unable to do anything but be moral support.

"Eventually you're going to have to," he commented, leaning his head back against the wall. They were talking in circles. She'd swear off food, he'd remind her she needed it to live, she'd call him an asshole. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

"Asshole," she muttered into the toilet water, delirious. "I'm sorry, I don't mean that. I'm sorry this happened on our last night together."

He wasn't sure what to say. Was it their last night? Did she expect him to go back to the States and them to never see each other again?

Instead, he said, "Don't apologize. It's not your fault you got food poisoning."

She groaned and heaved again. Something came up and she lifted a weak hand to flush the toilet before pushing a damn piece of hair off her face. "I fucking hate this."

"I know," was all he could offer.

"I fucking hate this," she repeated and he thought they were going to start the cycle all over again, but she surprised him by saying, "I don't want you to leave."

And then she was crying. He had never seen her cry before, if he could call it that since her face was in the toilet and all he could see was the back of her neck. She stopped when she started to throw up again and after another three hours she flushed for what he hoped was the last time. He grabbed a pillow and blanket from the bedroom while she brushed her teeth and then they crawled into the tub and fell asleep, her head on his chest and her body nestled between his legs. He expected her to get up and empty her stomach some more, but she slept from 4 a.m. until 10 when her alarm went off in the other room and then they were off, back to her house and then the airport where she stood at the security check and waved goodbye feeling like the last two months were a million years away.

 **94 days after.**

He could hear his secretary arguing with someone outside his office. The walls dulled the noise a little bit, but after another five minutes of screaming from whoever it was, he grew annoyed and got up to check it out.

"What the fuck Karin," he snapped when he saw who was making all the commotion. "Get out of my office. Get out of my fucking building."

"But, sweetie, I wanted to see you," she whined and she tried to come closer, to latch onto him, but he held out a hand to stop her. She wasn't as annoying as he lead on to believe, but lately she seemed to have figured out he wasn't as emotionally or physically available as she'd have liked anymore. There must've been some internal radar telling her he was interested in someone and it made her all the more desperate.

"Well I don't want to see you," he said, low enough so that the secretary couldn't hear from her desk. She'd gone back to her work, but she still kept one eye on Karin and one hand on the phone to call security if needed.

"But, I don't get it," she muttered, wiping at her eyes like she was about to cry. "Ever since you came back from Africa, the _first_ time, it's like you've changed. I just want _us_ again."

"There was no us," he told her, like he always told her, and saw the determination spark in her eyes. She just wouldn't listen.

The elevator dinged and he hoped it was security, coming to relieve him of this splinter that he just couldn't seem to get rid of. There was the sound of heels and he grew annoyed with Karin as she rambled on. He didn't want a scene, not in front of clients or co-workers who would later gossip about it until it was all over the city and in the tabloids. Front page spread.

He glared at Karin, about to tell her to leave, but saw something _pink_ in the corner of his vision. Whoever it was passed by the door and he would've ignored it except something in his gut told him to go check it out.

"Jesus Christ," he muttered, ignoring Karin as he stepped around her and out the door, spotting the familiar pink hair, but the unfamiliar pencil skirt, dark green blouse and black heels that made her legs go on forever. "Sakura?"

She turned, eyes wide, and then she smiled that bright fucking smile and was coming at him full speed. While she was wearing the dressy clothes, she was still the same as she jumped into his arms without a care of who saw them or how it wrinkled their clothes. She still smelled of sunlight and lemons and tasted even better than he remembered as he kissed her.

"We're you doing here?" he asked against her lips. He realized he was smiling like a schoolboy having found out his teacher was female and hotter than hell.

"I missed you," she admitted, looking up at him through her lashes as she ran her hand south and dipped her fingers underneath his waistband. And then she was kissing him again like they weren't in the middle of the hallway of his business where anyone could see them.

He pulled away, _still_ smiling. "You came here for sex?"

"And other things." She grinned and gave him another peck, this time on the corner of his lips. "Show me your office?"

They walked past Karin. He nodded at her, her face white and her mouth gaping open.

"'Bout time," his secretary muttered while trying to hide her smile as Sasuke and Sakura disappeared into his office.

 **98 days after.**

"What the fuck is _this_?" she asked as she waved the magazine in his face like it was a baseball bat meant to do harm. There was a wildfire in her throat and she swallowed to keep it down until the time was right.

On the front page was a photo of her with Sasuke and then one of Karin with Sasuke. The caption read 'Which one's the fiancée and which one's the mistress? Turn to page 15 to find out!'

"They always do this, twist things around. I'm not involved with her," he explained and ripped the magazine from her hand. She watched him look at the cover, read the headline, face going from slack to pure rage between one blink and the next. He threw it behind him so that it hit the wall and fell in a heap to the ground. And then he was hovering over her, hands cradling her neck so she had to look up at him, a complete opposite of the rest of his body language.

"Were you with her?" she asked, all anger gone as she tried to calm herself and think rationally. She hated how he made her go insane, even when he wasn't around. "At one point?"

He nodded, slowly, wishing he'd never was but knowing he could never take it back. Her fingers tightened in his shirt and he watched her throat bob as she swallowed.

"But not now?" she asked.

"No," he said.

"I trust you," she concluded and looked up at him, bringing their faces so close she could feel the ghost of his nose against her cheek as he tilted his head, drawn to her, needing to kiss her. "Did you love her like you love me, Sasuke?"

This was it, the moment that turned everything from lighthearted to passionate. He leaned closer and admitted against the corner of her lips, " _I can never love anyone like you._ "

She grasped the back of his neck like she was never going to let go and turned her head an inch to press her lips against his, soft like a summer breeze and then hard all at once like waves crashing to shore. That night they made love and in the morning he made her breakfast and while it reminded him of their first night together, so much had changed that he really couldn't compare the two. Now, he was in his non-bachelor apartment that he'd moved into after coming back from Africa the second time around and they were in love.

 **122 days after.**

"How's it going bro," Itachi asked and sat down across from him at the conference table. They were scheduled to have a meeting in half an hour and the two of them had shown up early, as usual, to finish up some last minute deals.

"It's going," Sasuke replied without looking up from the file in his hand. "The Nexon company hasn't replied yet about their order, but it shows a wire transfer—"

"Sasuke," Itachi started, steepling his fingers together and resting his chin on them. He studied his brother when he continued to talk, seeming not to have heard him.

"And I'm thinking we should place the order anyways to get that in motion before Google locks in their own order. They're sending over some people to play around with some of our new gadgets to see how it'll work into their designs so either you or I could accompany them unless you're gone by then. When do you leave?" Sasuke looked up from the file, completely oblivious until he saw Itachi's raised eyebrow and amused face. "What?"

"Your girlfriend's hot," Itachi remarked and chuckled at the way Sasuke's face morphed from businesslike to annoyed in half a second. All time record, right there. "But I'm sure that's not why you're with her, is it."

"The fuck you getting at?" Sasuke asked, letting the file fall to the table as his fists clenched.

"What I'm getting at," Itachi started slowly, drawing things out for his own amusement, "is that you're in love."

Sasuke made a noise that sounded like disagreement, but Itachi knew him better than that and read the emotions clear in his eyes. Loneliness, longing, sadness.

"I can tell you're miserable. You don't want to be here, it's obvious," Itachi continued and dug around in his suit pocket. He pulled out a folded piece of paper and tossed it onto the table in front of Sasuke. "So go be where you want to be."

Sasuke unfolded the plane ticket and stared at it for a long, hard moment with lips pressed tightly together. "I can't just up and leave. I'm the fucking _CEO_."

"I've already conducted interviews for someone to take your place," Itachi told him and smiled. "I hear there's a growing market in Africa these days anyways. It'd be good for the company and you."

"I'm not 18, Itachi. I have a life here—"

"Work is _not_ a life so don't give me that bullshit. Stop being stubborn," Itachi cut him off and then sighed, looking truly sad in that moment for what this business had done to his brother and to him. He hoped he'd made it in time to save his brother from giving up everything for his father's legacy instead of making his own, but now he feared he'd been too late. "Look, I pulled a lot of strings for you so if you don't take the offer, I might just have to kick your ass for all the wasted effort I went through."

Sasuke stared at him and then down at the plane ticket he was still clutching in his hand like a lifeline. His thumb traced the destination printed in small, bold, black letters and one image flooded his senses, knocking the present out of his mind for a moment.

Sakura was lying there in bed, right after they'd slept together for the first time. Sasuke had woken in the blue strip between night and dawn and watched her sleep, head on his chest right over his heart. For one fleeting moment, he felt infinite. It was too late to go back now. She would remember what he had with her forever as would she. And he was okay with that because he was happy around her and if it came down to it, he'd fight for her.

Against all odds, he'd do it. Without thinking, he whispered into her hair, "I will never give up on you."

 **125 days later.**

Sakura sat down to eat dinner. She was starving after a long day of work and so she sat there in the silence and the clinking of her fork against her plate. In her left hand was a book that she was almost through with and refused to put down.

And then there was a knock on the door and she swore under her breath, promising death to whoever it was if it wasn't _life or death_ important.

"Sasuke?" she breathed because even though he'd shown up on her doorstep out of the blue before, it never ceased to surprise her. "What're you doing here?"

"You once told me you wanted me to stay here, with you," he started and she saw the suitcase in his hand. It sent her heart flying. "I'd like to do that, for good, if the offer still stands."

Sakura pressed her hand to her mouth because goddammit she wasn't going to cry. She nodded and hugged him, pressing her wet eyes to his shoulder and smiling so fucking bright it hurt.

"Yes, of course," she said and clutched him tighter. This wasn't a dream. "Yes, yes, yes."

 **206 days later.**

She pulled him by the hand through the waist high grass with so much strength he thought she was going to wrench his arm off.

"Hurry your slow ass up," she demanded and they continued to climb, him grumbling the entire time. He hiked the blanket under his arm up higher and lengthened his strides so he wouldn't feel so stupid being unable to keep up with his girlfriend.

His heart pounded and not from the trek up the hill.

They were almost to the top, their boots crunching along and the grass feeling like whispers against their legs. When they finally crested the hill, he saw what had first sold him on the idea of freedom. The sky was a lighter shade tonight, more pink than red because they'd caught the beginning of the sunset. Sasuke set down the blanket and they sat there watching the colors change as Sakura rested her head on his shoulder. In the distance, they could see Scruff and Prince and Nagi roaming, but he wasn't afraid. Sakura had worn his clothes around them so they could become acquainted with his smell and he wore things that smelled of her when he first met them. They still kept their distance, but they were smart and seemed to understand he was part of her life now.

He smiled, playing with the tip of her braid, twirling it around one finger. Almost without sound, he whispered, "We need this."

* * *

I'm kind of sad this story has ended, it was one hell of a journey writing it. I feel like I experienced some of these moments just with how invested I was in writing it and so I hope some day I find even a sliver of happiness like these two did. This is the kind of writing I'll look back at and be like wow, _I wrote this_ , _this is why I write._

Thanks for reading everyone!


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